Coming Back To Bite You
by Qing Ri
Summary: The Ten Rings was bigger than anyone thought... they're looking for a way to make Tony atone for what they believe he did to them. When Erin and her mother are found at their archaeological dig, they find the perfect way. editing
1. Short, Sharp and Sweet

_Please R&R  
I love love love to hear comments :D  
**Note:** I'm re-writing this. I got a bit stuck on chapter 5, so i thought if i changed it to first person, i might find it a little easier._

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I looked up, shielding my eyes from the middle eastern sun. I searched the area around the dig site for James, but couldn't find any sign of him. Where could he have gone in this place? I turned to the side and nudged my mom.

"Hey, mom" I asked with a smile on my face, "have you seen my wandering husband-to-be?"

"Uuuh," my mom lifted her self off her knees and looked around. "There he is." She said, pointing across the dig to the opposite side. "you'd better hope he doesn't wander that much." She winked at me.

James was with one of the military escorts the Air Force had demanded go with us, walking away from the site. I shielded her eyes once more, trying to look past my fiancé and the Airman. Two men with guns were arguing on a ridge which over looked the dig.

I jumped up and wiped my legs free of the dust, sand and dirt that had stuck to me after kneeling for god-knows-how-long.

"Erin?" My mom questioned when she saw me leaving my area.

"Looks like trouble."

"Again?" Mom had that worried look on her face. The one that I had barely seen since my childhood.

"Don't worry mom. Whatever it is, I bet it'll be short, sharp and sweet." I smiled, then climbed out of the excavation, dropping my trowel next to the spades.

"Yeah, well it's the sharp I'm worried about!" Mom called after me. I flashed "V for Victory" at her behind my back. As soon as this war was over we'd be able to study in peace.

I ran fast around the dig to catch up with my fiancé. He didn't turn around at all, so I ambushed him from behind. He jumped and swore loudly, much to the amusement of the Airman beside him.

I kissed his cheek with a big _'mwahh'_ "Trouble, trouble?" I asked, grinning as I fell back onto my feet.

"Don't do that! Especially when these guys are around!" James swore again then gestured towards the two soldiers on the ridge, but he was still laughing. I knew he couldn't stay mad with me for any period of time.

"All right."

James wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. "Since when was _I_ trouble?"

"Since ya don't tell me when there is trouble." I poked his arm softly. "Besides, This one 'ere," She gestured to the Airman on James' other side, "Doesn't know the languages I do. Et Vice Versa."

"I would have called you if we needed you. _Besides,_" He said, imitating me, "I thought you wanted more time with your mom?"

I shrugged. "I think that even if she did want to tell me, she's had seventeen years to. If she's not told me in that time, I don't think I'm going to get it out of her on this dig."

The two soldiers on the ridge had descended and began walking straight towards them.

"This time you have an extra weapon in your arsenal, so to speak."

I looked up at him, confused. "I do?"

"Yeah." I could almost hear the cheeky grin on his face. "With all these guys around..."

My jaw dropped and I swung a fist into his chest. "That's just plain cruel."

James let go of Me and we separated, leaving a large space between us as the two sides met.

The older soldier of the pair spoke up, in a language that I recognised, Persian.

"He's asking who we are, what are we doing here." I translated.

"Well," James said. "You know, you're the daughter of the dig leader."

I turned to the soldier and told him, "We're archaeologists. We have a dig in the area." The older man repeated my words to his companion.

At that, both of the men grew angry. The younger one shouting out in an unrecognisable dialect.

James tried turning to the Airman, but he shook his head. Then he turned to Me.

"I don't know! I don't know!" I turned to the older man, asking him to translate.

"He's telling us we need to leave and hand over all the artefacts-"

"We can't!" James shouted, interrupting me, but I held up my hand to stop him.

"Otherwise," I continued, "They'll take back the land by force."

The two soldiers in front of us shouted to more on the ridges and cliffs that surrounded the dig site. Soon enough after the brief conversation, the soldiers were gone, apparently arguing amongst themselves.

Trying to hide my panic, I turned to James. "We need to start clearing away _now!_"

"No." said James defiantly. "We're staying."

"Dr. Elliot, your team has to leave. These people do not lie when it comes to things they believe in. Anyone can see when they turn to the war news. Civilians get hurt everyday. You are leaving." demanded the airman.

I gave James a piercing glare before storming away. I whistled loudly to every one at the site to get their attention but it was pointless; half of them had already been watching. "Pack up!" I yelled. "Label the finds and leave those in the ground in the ground."

Very few people were surprised at the early finish. The pack up was swift and the finds in the ground quickly and sneakily photographed for the records.

Eventually it got to the point where I could do nothing more to help; being only a college student and not a university one. I climbed up onto a ridge, keeping out of the way as the older people rushed around with the boxes. The sunset had begun in the west.

Something shining over to my left caught my eye. I dismissed it as the setting sun on the sand.

A few moments later the glint appeared again. I knelt up, shading my eyes to look. I dismissed it again.

Down by the truck, James shouted to me, but I was too far away. I couldn't hear a word.

A sharp pain struck the back of my head and reverberated around inside of it. I was unconscious before my head hit the sand.

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_Im constantly looking for un-biased opinions on my writing. Thank You! :D  
The button is longing to be pressed... please :P  
\V/_


	2. Someone Hits You, Hit Them Back Harder

_I landed flat on my face, on the hard concrete of the playground floor, wailing as I fell. After being dazed for a moment, I sat up to see Mitchell sniggering at my fall._

Boys_, I thought, _always stupid enough to turn around.

_I stood and brushed my knees before running after him. It was easy enough. He was still standing there, sneering, his eyes squeezed shut in laughter. I swung out my leg as I reached him._

_He fell in the same way I did, flat on his face._

_"Erin Taylor!" The screeching voice of Mrs Duncan pierced though the noisy playground air. "Get over here, Right NOW!"_

_I rolled my eyes and hung my head, mostly to hide my victorious grin but partially to show Mrs Duncan my battle wounds, and collected my bag from where I fell. I trudged across the grounds to where Mrs Rossi stood._

_"Mrs Rossi," I said, "It's home-time." I stated the fact calmly._

_"That it may be, but you just tripped up Mitchell. You will wait for your mother in my office, and then you can explain yourself and apologise to him. Mrs Duncan pointed in the direction of the door back into the school._

_"Mrs Duncan! He tripped me first!" I protested. _

_Mrs Duncan sighed. Not a normal sigh. But the kind of sigh that teachers do when they really, really wish the cane wasn't outlawed. Or rather, when they're really, really pissed at you._

_I trudged through the corridors. I knew all to well where Mrs Duncan's office was. It seemed like that woman had it in for me since I started, I'd moved there in year one. After nearly two years I had lost count of my visits to that damn woman's office. When I needed to turn a corner, I glanced over my shoulder. Mrs Duncan was looking the other way, arms crossed, tapping foot speeding at an immeasurable pace. I looked left, and then right, paused, and stuck my tongue out at Mrs Duncan's back. An immensely enjoyable moment that would otherwise have had me in detention for a week writing out, "I will not stick my tongue out at Mrs Duncan, I will not stick out my tongue at Mrs Duncan..."_

_When I reached the devil-teacher's office, I hoiked myself up onto the bench out side it. I started swinging my feet and whistling merrily to myself. I didn't need to wait long. Mrs Duncan soon arrived, followed loosely by my mother, who winked playfully at me. I have no idea what exactly happened in the meeting, but while I was earwiging on their conversation, I faintly heard,_

_"Well, I think the lack of a fatherly influence is resulting in her aversion to boys. Where is her father? Assuming you know who he is."_

_"He's busy. Overseas. It's impossible for him to look after her properly."_

_Then a few unintelligible sentences before footsteps came to the door. Only my mother came out._

_She said something that I never forgot._

_She knelt in front of me and smiled. "You did good. Something your father once told me; 'If someone hits you, hit them back_ harder._'" Then she winked. I giggled. "Ice cream?" I cheered._

My head rang. It felt like the worst migraine I'd ever had, magnified five times over. I daren't even open my eyes; I knew there were lights on. Just the tiny amount of light that made its way though my eyelids was excruciating.

I could hear voices around me. Indistinct but insistent, shouting, panicking voices. Then - gunfire!?

It ripped through my head. Close, short, sharp gunfire. The voices stopped, and a few moments later a huge metallic bang resonated through whatever room I was in.

It was an onslaught on my senses, my head was screaming. It couldn't be helped; before I'd even made any signs of having woken, I passed out once again from the pain.


	3. Slaps and Pancakes

_I'm sorry, i really couldn't resist!! No Offence meant to perky Americans. English people you'll probably know what i mean, On E! or something.  
I will post this now, but i will also update it tomorrow, after school :)  
Monday : Thanks to fire_tear19 for spotting my geographical error. (Not very good for a GCSE Geography student eh? lol)_

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_The small TV in the corner of the kitchen flashed as the Movie came to a break. A small, but brightly coloured newsroom appeared and the woman, who was annoyingly American and frustratingly perky, that sat in the middle piped up. A huge, fake grin lit up her face like a warning beacon._

_"The Annual Fire-fighters Benefit began last night here in Malibu with a spectacular fire work show. It looked from the beginning as if Stark Industries was going to spare no expense."_

_The fireworks that had apparently occurred in Malibu last night filled the screen for a moment._

_I swung my feet below the stool I sat on. It was a habit I'd tried to give up but my legs were often restless. "Wow..." I mouthed, momentarily distracted from my school coursework by the beautiful sparkling shapes that filled the screen. "Mum," I called, "Are you absolutely sure there's nothing of archaeological interest in Malibu, especially near one of these parties?"_

_My mother looked over her shoulder at the TV and laughed. "I'm pretty certain." pausing, she carefully flipped the pancake in the fryer through the air. "Besides, Erin, I think you're a little young."_

_The perky American continued with her annoying voice over._

_I dropped my pencil and put my hands on my hips. "I'm nearly 15!"_

_"Yes, well I think they have higher drinking ages over there. Which would restrict entry anyway." My mum piled the last pancake on one of the plates and joined me at the table, pouring sugar and toffee sauce all over both the plates. "There's more on the side if you want them."_

_Licking my lips I completely abandoned my work, pushing it over the table top. "Yum!" then, "Finally!" When the annoying woman left the screen to pass then news to another man. He still had that annoying accent but was considerably less perky and so less annoying overall._

_"Yes, Jade, the entertainment was amazing. However, outside on the red-carpet, Stark Industries CEO, Anthony Stark provided even more entertainment, and quite a bit of gossip."_

_I laughed. "That man is ridiculous!"_

_I stayed listening, just for the laughs, and never noticed my mothers weak, tight-lipped smile. "Yeah, ridiculous."_

_The man on the TV carried on as the footage of Tony Stark played on the screen. "Last night he left with no less than four women throughout the duration of the evening. And another, as he walked towards the building, stalked right up to him and slapped him. Not once, but twice." The coinciding footage played._

_I giggled and had to put my hand over my mouth while I was eating my pancakes. "Oh wow!" My mum laughed beside me too. "I love Sundays!"_

I moaned and curled up onto my side where I lay, clutching my head.

"Hey," I heard someone whisper, he was close by. "Are you awake again? Hon?" A hand softly caressed my hair and cheek.

"My head!" I said quietly as I slowly opened my eyes. James was kneeling on the floor beside me. The room was dark, and I was facing the wall. "What happened?" I struggled to ask.

James eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You mean you don't remember?"

"I got hit in the head. That's about it."

James looked over at someone else in the room. "Elle, can you pass me the water?" Then he turned his attention back to me. "You were awake once before, about two days back." Someone handed him the bottle of water, "Thank you," He let me sip a little of it before putting it down on the ground beside him. "We explained everything to you."

A flash of a memory, buried and hidden, resurfaced in my pounding head; Sitting beside a small, old, gas lamp, a small plate with an even smaller amount of food rested on my lap, which I slowly picked from. I sat, very comfortably in James' arms.

"You know, your mother even revealed the big secret, these 'freedom fighters' forced her to, after they found out no one knew." At my quizzical look, he clarified. "Your father."

My memory did the flip again. I couldn't remember where I was, but I knew I'd heard a name. Someone my mother never spoke about. I could only remember one time they'd even heard about him. Tony Stark

My jaw dropped a little as I tried to sit up. At least my first attempt at that worked.

"Tony Stark." James laughed, "You know, at first I couldn't quite believe it. But after a while I thought about it and it made a lot more sense."

I reached out and pushed James' shoulder a little, I couldn't muster much. "Are you calling me a slut?" I asked, half jokingly, half seriously.

"No," James laughed again, "But your eyes, your hair. I mean, look at your mum."

I turned around to see my mother asleep herself on the opposite side of the room. My mum was fair haired with freckles and deep, chocolate brown eyes. I had black hair, had still inherited a few freckles, but had bluish-grey eyes.

More like Tony Stark.

My mother was quiet, reserved, an introvert who lost herself in her digs and lectures. I wasn't so quiet. I made my views known and never gave up. An extrovert. Hell, I even drive my bike a little crazily.

Like Tony Stark.

My mother was serious, I mucked about and was often (though unintentionally) late.

Like Tony Stark.

In fact, I thought for the first time in my life that maybe the only reason me and my mother had gotten along so well was because they were complete opposites. I turned back to James. I realised he was living proof of the differences. My mum had never been married, now here I was, engaged at seventeen.

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_:P  
Please R&R  
Do you think i should write that missing scene? The one where everything is explained to Erin, for the first time?_


	4. Goosebumps

_Just in case you missed it - I updated Chapter Three. So if you don't get the begining of this chapter go back._

_Whoo! look! Its Tony! So also Pepperony :P I love those two as a pair!_

When I woke up the next day, I couldn't remember having eaten anything after my short conversation with James. Not much had happened. My mother was fast asleep, apparently her first good lot of sleep since what happened at the dig. James had said that she had sat up day and night next to me, panicking that I wouldn't wake up. About half of their group had been shot down, trying to run away. The Soldiers' leader had told them, 'Shoot anyone who runs, bring the ones you spoke to to me.' That meant James and I were in for it.

There were five others left - in this room at least. James said some people had been locked in different rooms. The Air Force Major who'd been with them was in one of the 'cells' on his own.

The room they were in at the moment was a small, boxy room, with cameras in each corner. The walls, floor and ceiling were all metal. It was a solid, steel cage with one door. The door had never opened so long as I could remember, only the hatch at the bottom opened. That's when the soldiers passed new food through. New, because it replaced what they'd been eating before, but not always necessarily fresh.

The 'beds' were made up of layers and layers of coats or other clothes. As not all of it my companions' they made me wonder how many people had been kept in these rooms.

I had fallen asleep huddled next to James. I was curled up, lying as close as possible. The metal room had none of the Middle Eastern heat that raged outside. It was freezing cold. My head lay on James' shoulder, my hand on his chest. For a moment of delusion, I thought for a moment I was back in the hotel, and all of the chaos had been an insane dream. I shifted my head, and could hear his heartbeat. Feel the soft rise and fall of his chest. For a moment it strengthened my hallucination.

But Three sudden strikes on the metal door pulled me violently out of my serene state.

"Mr Stark?" Pepper called through the spacious house.

The AI spoke, rather loudly compared to the quiet that filled the huge spaces, and made Pepper jump. "Miss Potts, Mr Stark is in his Lab."

She started walking towards the stairs behind the water fall. "Thought he might be. Thanks JARVIS." She stopped abruptly. "Is his music on?"

There was a short pause while the AI checked. "Yes, Miss Potts. Would you like me to turn it down for you?"

Pepper carried on walking. "Yes please JARVIS." She made her way quickly down the stairs and almost let her hand slip on the touch pad as she entered her code her hands were shaking so much. But she was the great Pepper Potts. She managed to keep her calm, but still worried about what Tony's reaction would be. Not just to the message, but the hacking. Who _the hell_ can hack into _Tony Stark's_ system?

"What did I say about turning off my music, Miss Potts?" Came the distinct, and calm, voice of Pepper's boss. But she couldn't see where it had come from.

"Mr Stark? Mr Stark?"

"If you're going to stop calling me Tony, Pepper, then I will get very choked up. There could be tears." Still nothing as to his whereabouts.

"M- Tony, this is important. Very important. I would go so far as extremely important - that's how the head tech guys described it to me." Keeping her tablet close, she put her free hand on her hip.

"Ohhh very in charge. Do you know how sexy that skirt is from behind Pep?" Tony placed a hand intimately on her hip, and softly kissed the back of her neck.

Surprised, not only at his sudden and cheeky appearance, but also at how that fleeting touch had given her goose bumps, Pepper almost leapt forward. "Jeez Tony!"

Even her genuine shock and anger didn't wipe that smirk off his face.

"Don't do that to me ever again!" She expertly calmed herself and held out the tablet so he could clearly see the problem. The grin left his face. The goose bumps were still running down Pepper's neck and spine.

_Sorry it took me so long compared to the other chapters. I've gone back to my love of history. I wont read anything but Sherlock Holmes. (Me: Robert Downey Jr, not a proper Sherlock? Pfffft! Obviously not read the books!) Cookies for whoever gets the Joss Quote 3_

_So, Please Review. I love comments._

_But also, and most importantly..._

_Enjoy! x_


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